Nautical terms
as a 19th Century naval officer on the holodeck]] In the nautical tradition of Earth, the various service organizations throughout the galaxy engage in the usage of nautical terms to apply traditional sea-going references to modern starship operations. Sections of a ship * Bay: A stowage facility for auxiliary vessels, consumables or goods such as "shuttlebay" or "cargo bay". * Beam: The widest part of the ship or a point alongside the ship. (eg, Worf; "Probe is standing abeam" meaning the probe was steady alongside the Enterprise.) * Bow: The forward section (or fore) of a ship. * Bridge: The main command center of a ship where course is set and essential operations of the ship is monitored. * Brig: A secure area where prisoners are held. * Deck: A floor or level of a ship usually oriented horizontally. Often used to describe the walking surface of floors within a ship or the outermost habitable section of a ship. * Engineering: (or Engine Room) area that contains the ship's engines and power generators. * Port (side): The left side of a ship from the perspective of a person standing on board and facing the bow of the ship. * Port (opening): An opening in a hull or bulkhead. Not to be confused with the left side of a vessel. * Port (dock): A berthing for a vessel. A launching or arrival point for a vessel usually where goods and personnel are transferred. * Quarters: Sleeping area(s) for the crew. * Sickbay: The ship's hospital. Called an infirmary on planet or base-side facilities. * Stern: The rear section (or aft) of a ship. * Starboard: The right side of a ship from the perspective of a person standing on board and facing the bow of the ship. Key Personnel of a Ship * Boatswain or Bosun: A member of a crew who is responsible for mooring, berthing and gangways and decorating them accordingly upon visitation of a high-ranking official or VIP. He/she is also responsible for a formal greeting upon such an arrival by which the crewman will blow a specialized whistle in a stylized manner. * Captain: Typically, a ship's commanding officer responsible for overseeing the overall operation of ship and crew. * Chief Engineer: Crew person responsible for the physical components and operational systems of a ship including and especially that of propulsion. * Chief Medical Officer: (also called Ship's Doctor, "CMO" or Ship's Surgeon) Crew person responsible for the health and physical well-being of the crew. * Dock Master: An officer directly responsible for managing the comings and goings of vessels in his/her assigned berth. * First Officer: The officer second in command of a ship directly beneath the Captain. Often referred to as "Number One" "Executive Officer" or simply "Exec." or "XO". The First Officer is responsible for ensuring the Captain's orders are carried out to his/her specifications and could be considered the chief pilot of a vessel as navigation orders generally are relayed through the First Officer. * Second Officer:Third in command of a ship beneath the First Officer and the Captain. * Steward: A manager of goods and functions aboard a ship. * Yeoman: An assistant to senior officers. The position of Yeoman seems to have been phased out sometime between 2293 and 2371. Direction and Navigation * Bearing: The direction of an object in relation to the ship's heading. The ship's direction is automatically assumed to be zero and the vector of the other ship's angle is calculated in a 360° arc. * Heading: The direction of the ship in relation to the center of the galaxy broken down into a 360° arc on the X axis (yaw). Another 360° arc is the direction separated by saying "mark" which is the Y axis (pitch). For example, if a commander of a starship wanted a heading of 180 mark 0, he'd want to turn the ship to the southernmost section of the galaxy while keeping the Y axis of the ship parallel to the plane of the galaxy. ::Sometimes a crewman reports the '''Bearing' of a ship or object or the Heading of the ship with inconsistent numbers, like "heading 12 mark 820", which is an overlooked error by the writers of the show. * Pitch: The orientation of the port and starboard sides of the ship respectively (side to side). * Roll: The orientation of the ventral and dorsal sides of the ship respectively. * Yaw: The orientation of a ship's bow and aft ends respectively (up and down). The Starfleet evasive maneuver described as "Pattern Delta" is maneuver that involves rocking a starship hard, from port to starboard, to shake pursuing vessels. ( ) Functions of a ship and crew * Battlestations: ship's crew report to their assigned combat duty stations, can also refer to the location where a particular crewman reports for combat duty. * Berth: A docking space for a ship. * Captain: The standing commanding officer regardless of officer's actual rank. * Damage Control: the act or task of performing emergency repairs to parts of a ship damaged by combat or accident. * Dock: To place the ship into a facility for repair, service or rest. * Hail: To call, invite or beckon. * Hand: A crew member; An able-bodied individual capable of tending to ship's services or operation. * Leave: An approved absence from duty usually for rest and relaxation or convalescence. * Moor: To attach the ship to a bulkhead to prevent drifting. * Sir: A superior officer regardless of gender. * Stow: To secure goods or belongings. * Watch: A duty shift. Miscellaneous * Shore: Dry land. * Shore leave: Time away from duty usually on a base or planet. "Walk the plank" When pirates captured a ship at sea, it is believed that they sometimes forced its sailors to walk overboard to their deaths from a wide board known as a plank. This routine became known as to "walk the plank". In 2371, the crew of the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise]] jokingly upheld this ancient sailing tradition when they celebrated Worf's promotion to Lieutenant Commander. ( ) "Abandon ship" "Abandon ship" was an order for all hands to evacuate via transporters or emergency escape pods due to an imminent catastrophic event which threatens to destroy the ship. ( , ; , et al; , et al; , et al.) "Aye/Aye, aye" An acknowledgment of an order. One "aye" for the acknowledgment. Two "aye"s for acknowledgment and carrying out of order. Commander Riker believed that only one "Aye" was sufficent for both, however. ( ) "Steady as we/she go(es)" A request by a commander of a vessel to maintain course and speed without deviation. More precisely, when the captain of a vessel is satisfied with its course and speed, he calls to the crew, "Steady as we/she go(es)." By this, he communicates that the ship should maintain its course and speed, until and unless he gives a different command. Related Links *Military parlance External Links * Category:Terminology de:Bug de:Heck de:Steuerbord de:Backbord